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Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates
Which makes no difference to the tax payer AKA homeowner.
The point is there has been numerous taxes added to our market to increase cost of ownership and slow down pricing growth and none of it has worked significantly.
All of these, especially the foreign buyer's tax was widely applauded by people happy to make foreigners the problem, then flippers were the problem, then people with too many properties sitting empty.
Government has reacted to every boogy man and we're still in the the craziest market in many years with upwards of 50 people bidding on the same house.
None of these changes have created a large increase in supply, which is the solution we really need.
If you have some federal government intervention ideas to increase that, I'm with you.
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I can say with 100% certainty that what's driving prices in Vancouver right now is local buyers with cheap mortgage loans and help from their parents. I've mentioned my experience several time already in here, but went to many showings in Vancouver over the past few months, and each one had 30-50 local couples looking to buy.
In Vancouver the answer is clearly higher density. There are so many people in Vancouver who would be extremely happy with a 1500 3 bedroom townhouse. The demand for these is huge. There are many streets where it would be totally appropriate to do so.
The anti-density argument is essentially "we've already tried that and it didn't work". Vancouver's developments are always many steps behind demand. I believe this is purposeful. The city is bowing to the developers and existing property owners. The new units always trickle out in a way that never satisfies demand. Property prices stay high. Everyone who already has capital invested - the people with the most political clout - is happy.
I get that people are concerned about density, and it's effects. IMO that ship sailed long ago. Vancouver isn't a small town anymore, and it ethically needs to accommodate the people working and living there, who, in turn, support the city. Most of the property being developed isn't worth saving. It's literally blocks of rotting houses barely (or not at all) fit for humans to live in.
I just don't think the solution is some great mystery. It's obvious. Remove the red tape around re-development.